The upswing of Alyzee and I missing out is that Langara College’s Studio 58 has decided to extend our two tickets to you delightful people in a little theater giveaway for their latest play.  I’ll get to that in a minute, as first I’ll fill you in on the play.

Photographer: David Cooper

The play is Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, but Julius Caesar with a twist, a Julius Caesar gender bender.  You see, when casting for the play, Director Scott Bellis decided to break with tradition and offer the parts of Caesar, Brutus, Cassius and Octavius to women.  I must say this very much tickles my fancies, as traditionally the parts of women in Shakespeare’s play would have been played by men.

For those of you not familiar with Julius Caesar, it is Shakespeare’s masterpiece of political power-play and manipulation, examining the conflict between one person’s ambition and the good of the state, all set in a life-and-death struggle for control of Rome. As Director Scott Bellis puts it, this is very much a tale involving traditional male roles and a story of ‘honourable men’. “In this alternate telling, we are discovering what it means for a male Mark Antony to avenge a female Caesar; what a same-sex marriage looks like in the house of Brutus;  and how being a ‘man’ can say more about your social status than your gender in this very different vision of Rome.”  Sounds fascinating!  Would love to see how all of this unfolds.

And if you are curious about Studio 58, you can read of Alyzee Lakhani’s most recent experience there with The 13th Chair.

So the Giveaway.  We have a pair of tickets to giveaway here and a pair to giveaway on Roamancing (stay tuned for that giveaway in a day or two) with your choice of Wednesday February 8th at 8 pm, Thursday February 9th at 8 pm or Saturday February 11th at 3 pm.  For the giveaway here, to enter:

• Comment below with which Shakespeare character, of the opposite sex from you, you would love to play;
• Deadline Thursday February 2nd at midnight PST.

To be entered a second, third and fourth time:

• Tweet this post with me, @EmmeRogers and #VancouverTheatre somewhere in the tweet, so I see the tweet;
• Share this post on facebook and include @Roamancing in the text when you post it (this should link Roamancing’s facebook page, so I’ll see the post); and/or
• Share this post on G+ and include @Emme Rogers in the text when you post it (this should alert me on G+ of your post).

I shall pull the name of one lucky winner from commenters, tweeters, facebookers and G+ers, and announce the winner on Friday February 3rd.  Very much looking forward to making somebody happy!

Oh, and if sadly you don’t win, the play is running at Studio 58 February 2nd – 26th, Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8 pm and Saturdays & Sundays at 3 pm, and tickets can be purchased here.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

Even the urinals were decked out for the party.

I happened upon the setup for a Sweet Sixteen today in my travels at a local Community Organization, and have to admit to being a bit of a noisy Parker, wanting to sneak a peek at each of the spaces they were transforming into what reminded me of a something from a Disney Winter Palace for a teen Princess.  It was really something else, as I am sure will be the actual party later today.  Oh to be a fly on the wall.

The establishment I was at I was not a part of, but I did hear the community’s opinions – both favourable and unfavourable. Part of me wanted to tell people to mind their business and just let the family enjoy their day, but it did get me thinking as I wandered home.  The flowers and decorations, from what I saw would have amounted to a sizable down payment on a house, and that’s before the food, entertainment, facility rental … etc. All for a Sweet Sixteen.  What would this kid’s wedding look like later on?

This got me wondering, by giving our kids so much at such a young age, are we giving them unrealistic expectations from life?  Is this what creates some of the self-entitlement issues that we are currently facing in the Western World?

Feel free to weigh in.  Would love to hear your thoughts.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

… but it got me wondering.  I already spend way too much of my time online.  I don’t want my whole life here, and as much as I see and hear the irony in what I am saying, I don’t want my most intimate moments here.  It is probably why I struggle with internet dating, and quite frankly suck at it.  I’ve been online all day, I don’t then want to go hang out in the virtual bar to meet someone, I want to go to the real bar (especially as I prefer real drinks to virtual ones).

So would I want a guy to propose to me with a virtual tool, no matter how creative?  HELL NO!  It’s also so public, and I’m of the believe that a proposal should be a personal moment between two people, not the entire web. So yes, in case you’re thinking of proposing to me, that also means that proposals on Sporting Screens (or trons or whatever the hell they call them), at a party surrounded by friends, or over dinner with the families, is also out. Take me for a walk, a hike or picnic.  Somewhere where it is just you and I.

So am I alone here?  Would you want to be proposed to via an internet video?

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

To be honest, no one has ever set me up on a blind date.  Before, the idea would have petrified me.  I mean it seems like such an awkward experience.  Now, I guess still being single, I’d consider it, but I’d really have to trust the people setting me up.

Have you ever been set up on a blind date?  How was it?

Sleepless nights!!! Who wants to go back to sleepless nights?! Well, our puppy cries and howls in the middle of the night so we have to get up and take her outside in case she needs to piddle.  Just picture me outside in the pitch dark freezing in my pajamas, trying to follow the dog around with the light of my cell phone.  Amen we finally bought a mega-flashlight.  My friend told me the howling is because dogs are pack animals and she is just feeling lonely and looking for her pack (us!).  We now have the puppy sleeping in a crate by our bed.  Which basically means we are ‘co-sleeping‘.

During the day when she whines we run through the same list we use to do for our babies when we had no idea what they were crying about.  Is she hungry, or thirsty, does she need to go outside, is she just bored, does she want a belly rub, or need to play?  We have to follow her around as if she was a toddler to make sure she doesn’t piddle or poop anywhere inside the house.  When she goes outside we are supposed to cheer really loud and make a very big deal of it.  “Yay! Doggy made a poopy!”  (sound familiar?)  It hit me really hard this week…we have to pick up EVERY SINGLE poop this dog will have in her whole entire life.

What Is She Thinking About?

As I read Emme‘s latest post I became more frightened for my future.  Fuzzywinkle Furry Pants has control over her and with just a glaring look, she is able to get her to make posters about cats. When Emme’s not looking, the cat sneaks off and tweets too.  You know what they say, kids and technology these days!  We better watch our backs and raise an independent, yet loving ‘child’.

Off to check in on the sock-stealing bundle of joy…

Here’s some background on the play itself: Forum (the book) was written by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  The musical was inspired by the farces of ancient Roman playwright Plautus, who wrote some of the earliest surviving works of Latin literature (fast facts  – courtesy Sage Wiki).

Mike Wild (Hysterium) and Ryan Mooney (Pseudolus)

That would explain the the abundance of classic comic devices that the Forum uses so dexterously.  For anyone wanting to see cases of mistaken identity and mad coincidence seamlessly taken to comical extremes, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is the play for you.

The actors’ exuberance in the cozy Jericho Arts Centre is really palpable, especially during the Forum‘s first feel-good little number, where all the actors, in a whirlwind of song and dance, directly address the audience promising “Something for Everyone . . . Comedy Tonight!”. The song and the actors transparently and eagerly declare that the Forum is meant to make you laugh (I am not ashamed to say I chortled).  I say this performance is heartwarming because the way the cast looks right into the audience’s eyes as they perform this song, with big, warm smiles on their faces — their desire to entertain and make us laugh is so genuine, you can see that it comes from way under their makeup, makeshift ancient Roman wear and glittering false eyelashes.

Peter Stainton (Sennex) and the Courtesans.

I love how the character’s names reflect their personalities too — I read somewhere this is also a feature of classical comedy. “Pseudolus” (played by Ryan Mooney) is a loveable scoundrel who can weave fabulous lies to talk himself out of any situation — a talent he uses to try and buy his freedom by arranging a love affair with his master and the girl next door; while “Hysterium” (played by Mike Wild) is a bundle of nerves who grows more and more neurotic as the events of the play threaten to blow his cover. A personal favourite name/character of mine in this play is “Miles Gloriousus” – captain, conqueror, bride-buyer, narcissist (played by Matt Ramer). I could learn a few moves from the names of the courtesans (and the talented courtesans themselves): in the above picture, (left  to right) are Gymnasia (played by Ranae Miller), Vibrata (played by Kiki Lipsett), Titinabula (played by Sable Strub), the Geminae (played by Rebecca Friesen and Jennifer Kuhl) and Panacea (played by Brittany Cairns).

Cameron Dunster (Hero) and Elyse Maloway (Philia)

The Jericho Arts Centre is perfectly small for this spirited play: much of the humour comes from the characters’ confiding in or addressing the audience like an old friend, involving them in the story — I particularly love this kind of theatre.

I recently learned that the cast throws in funny one-liners that weren’t in the script, as some friends that went after opening night notified me of new jokes in the play that I hadn’t seen. While I feel a little jealous having missed these, that also explains why the humour in the play comes across as spontaneous, and is all the more hysterical for it.

Without further spoilers, you can see Fighting Chance Productions‘ A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Jericho Arts Centre until October 22nd. Shows are at 8 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday, with matinees at 2 p.m on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Bravo to the cast, crew, and band for all their hard work in putting together this play.  And a big congratulations to Cathy Wilmot for directing this wonderful show!

On the flip side, snowy winter settings also make for chilling murder mysteries: what with the blackouts, the snowed in vehicles, the long quiet nights, those unfamiliar footprints in the snow and let’s not forget that lone, ominous axe that’s sitting in the corner (presumably for woodcutting)… throw in a shady character with a motive and that’s enough to have me nibbling at my fingernails and shivering in my seat.

The Metro Theatre‘s production of Making a Killing by John Nassivera is a pleasant mixture of the above two scenarios. It has the coziness of an isolated wooden cabin in Vermont, but also the chilly bitterness of a murder in the offing.

KATHRYN STEWART and BLAINE ANDERSON in Metro Theatre's production of MAKING A KILLING by John Nassivera. Photo by BRIAN CAMPBELL.

The characters are the sort that keep you guessing — those  surrounding the protagonist are alternately sweet and then seditious — they appear to genuinely care for him, a few lines later are greedy for their cut of his profits. It’s a play where the blurry moral scruples make interesting things happen — like a playwright faking his own death with the help of his friends, only to discover that perhaps his friends aren’t really faking…

Making a Killing has a funny take on the popular maxim that artists are only ever appreciated after they’re dead. Its characters paint entertaining pictures of showbiz stereotypes in the figures of the narcissistic (over)actress (played wonderfully by Kathryn Stewart), the smarmy, opportunistic producer (played by Joseph Balint) and the playwright’s results-driven agent (played by Anita Reimer) who talks-a-mile-a-minute, drives a hard bargain and can’t be fooled. Reimer’s character shows increasing amounts of depth as the play goes on, and her growing connection with the dry, witty, existentially fraught protagonist (Blaine Anderson) becomes the play’s one true thing. All four actors did a great job — I especially enjoyed Anita Reimer’a outrageously entertaining New York accent — and I’m sure their performances have only gotten funnier and more nuanced since opening night last week.

The set, sound, lighting and costume design were phenomenal and deserve a special mention– I really did feel like I was in a lonely, well-furnished cabin in Vermont, and that there really was a snowy driveway offstage. Bravo to Don Briard, Les Erkine & Heather Stewart, Miles Lavkulich and Val Palosaari — and anyone else who helped with the ambience — for pulling this effect off so well.

Photo by BRIAN CAMPBELL KATHRYN STEWART and BLAINE ANDERSON in Metro Theatre's production of MAKING A KILLING by John Nassivera (Oct 1 - 29, 2011)

Congratulations to Alison Schamberger for directing such an enjoyable performance!

You can see John Nassivera‘s Making a Killing at the Metro Theatre at 8 p.m. until October 29th, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday Oct 23.

When I think of LA, I think of blondes with artificially manipulated features.

Now first of all, I am not blond and have no desire to bleach my hair.  Neither do I have desire for larger boobs.  That would just likely result in back problems. As for botox, facelifts … etc., I like my wrinkles.  They tell a story.  So yes, it is true, I have absolutely no desire to look like a plasticized Barbie and am somewhat critical of the LA lifestyle for producing so many life-sized plasticized Barbies.

Now with my best bud, Brie Mason having moved  to LA, I have to question whether or not I have just stereotyped the LA lifestyle, as this is definitely not her. Although we did have an argument one day about having ‘work done’. Thankful her husband, who is more LA than either of us, was on my side.  So might it be that I have been stereotyping the LA culture or do I need to pull Brie away for regular Roamancing Adventures and regular reminders of her Canadian roots (Canadiana interventions if you will, but I do hate the ‘term’ intervention)?

Like with most things, I have decided it’s best to educate myself on the culture to better understand Brie in her new habitat.  Now in the nick of time, there happens to be a Show designed just for that, with a few parallels to Brie’s world.  A Vancouver family jumping back and forth between Vancouver and LA, in their attempt to make their mark on this World.  The Show is called Dussault Inc. (about Jason Dussault, Mashiah Vaughn and their family) and is on Citytv Saturday nights at 8:30 pm.  I’ll be tuning in the hopes of gaining an enlightened understanding into Brie’s new World and the LA-Vancouver Celebrity Making Culture.

Wish me luck!

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

If you have been to Timeraiser before, you know what a truly wonderful and inspiring event it is and you likely already have your tickets for tonight’s event at the Waldorf Hotel. If timeraiser is new to you, in a nutshell, it is an art auction, where you bid on art with volunteer hours. The artists get paid in real dollars, you get to meet and chat with different organizations about volunteer opportunities, admire and learn about the art of local artists, bid on art work, just as if you were a high roller, and best of all do some good in your community in the process.  How could you not love this!

Sadly I am not in town, so can’t be there tonight, but for those of you lucky enough to be in town, take advantage of the event to learn about some great volunteer opportunities and take in some great local talent.

Here are the details:

• When? TONIGHT – Thursday September 22, 2011
• What Time? 7 – 11 pm (you want to arrive no later than 8 pm)
• Where? Waldorf Hotel - 1489 East Hastings Street
• How Much? Only $20 online.
• What? A fun evening, that has you mingling with interesting people and leaves you feeling great.

Wish I was seeing you there.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

I have a Cocker Spaniel. I can assure you that she is one of the cutest dog in the world with her fluffy brown fur coat and long ears. She just looks like a bear. I guess that is why whenever I walk her, she attracts loads of attention.

This is my baby doggy!

My dog is called Dau Dau (it means peas in Cantonese). I have no idea why we gave her this name, as she is definitely not small as a pea. I’ll have to ask my mum about the origin of her name, as Dau was actually her birthday gift from my dad.

Dau has lots of nicknames due to her behaviour. She is sometimes called ju (pig in Cantonese) and sometimes called b (a short form of baby in Cantonese). From her nicknames, you can probably guess that she is a rather lazy dog. She eats then sleeps then eats. These two activities continue throughout the day until we walk her or play with her. Yes, her routine is just like a pig, except for the fact that there is no way Dau will be anybody’s supper. Also, she is an attention seeking freak. She just demands your attention like 24/7. She uses her fluffy little paw to scratch you when she wants a pat. She barks when she wants to eat; similar to a baby demanding to be fed. Because of her at times naughtiness, we had to buy the baby locker thing to prevent her from entering a certain room, so she would not have the chance to create a mess (such as biting stuff).

I am not sure whether I should say having Dau in my family is lucky for her or us. Of course, I would say it is my pleasure to have her in my family more than the other way around. She is just a little baby in our family, creating loads of excitement and laughter.

Since my mum trained Dau, she can do quite a lot of tricks. For example, if we ask Dau what is her name, she barks to answer. She knows that she needs to pretend to die when we yell bang. However, she will not do these tricks without a reward (after all she is pretty smart). We are so proud of her, because of all these tricks she is able to do. Whenever our friends come over, we show her off, and everyone ends up laughing and clapping.

Look at my muscular arms! Do not try to come close!!

It is rather frustrating that she does not know how to play catch or frisbee. I have tried to teach her to give me back the ball after she grabs the thrown ball. Time after time, she just wants to bite onto it and not give it back. My boyfriend has a theory about this – Dau is very possessive.

I love her the most at night, because she becomes a little soft doll who does not want to move around due to her sleepiness. Meaning I can hug her all night long. Well, actually most of the time she ends up nowhere near my arms by morning. Nevertheless, I do like her to be my sleeping buddy. I always have a feeling that whenever I close my eyes, there is someone or something peeking over my shoulder to look at me sleeping (I do know that I do have a pretty face, but it is just very creepy to have someone look at you sleeping). Although I do know that it is very unrealistic, I just feel secure with Dau being around me at night.

Dau is a very understanding and emotional dog; just like a human. There have been a few times that she seemed to know I was upset, and she would just sit beside me and snuggle her head against my arm. There was this one time she just came over to lick my face while I was crying. Because of her, I felt better instantly. Now she has become one of my close buddies as she will listen to what I have to say even though most of the time she falls asleep in the middle of our conversation. She also understands jealousy. When my mum and I hug each other, she will growl at us to make us include her as well. If not, she barks at us angrily. We find that super funny.

Where are you leading me to? But I trust you since you are my friend.

I think I have found one of my life-time friends in a pet shop, and I am really grateful for her. I cannot imagine my life without her, because she has already silently stolen a special place in my heart (Argh…Dau-the-possessor, give me back one of the pieces of my heart). It is nice to have a loyal friend like Dau! Do you have any pet stories to share?